Conclusions

Abstract

In a challenge to prevailing conceptions of social cohesion we asked: do people have to get on well together? We also asked the question: how do people live together? In this concluding chapter we aim to draw the threads of our analysis together in order to answer these and other questions. First we consider the implications of our evidence demonstrating that the prevailing understandings of social cohesion in public policy are out of step with the rhythms and realities of everyday life. Second, we consider local and national narratives framing cohesion and their implication in the unfolding of the dynamics of social cohesion and suggest ways to move on. Finally we examine the import of our research for practices of social intervention in the field of social cohesion.